News from around the nation.

Angering Denmark, Trump appoints special envoy to Greenland; Flight records show Trump traveled on "at least eight" Epstein flights; CT, U.S. offshore wind projects face second federal pause; Mpls. ends contract with controversial Israeli-founded tech firm; Proposed offshore fish farms along Florida's Gulf Coast spark debate.

Transcript

The Public News Service Tuesday afternoon update, I'm Mike Clifford.

Officials in Denmark and Greenland were furious Monday that President Trump had appointed a special envoy to Greenland, that from the New York Times

They report Denmark's foreign minister quickly criticized the move as totally unacceptable.

Landry made it clear he understood what Trump wanted from him, writing on X, "It's an honor to serve you "in this volunteer position to make Greenland "a part of the U.S."

And from CNN, flight records show Donald Trump traveled on Epstein's private jet many more times than previously reported.

An assistant US attorney for the Southern District of New York wrote in an email dated January 8th, 2020.

The email pegged the number of flights at at least eight.

Meantime, the federal government is again pausing offshore wind projects in Connecticut and along the East Coast.

The Trump administration citing national security risks, the Department of Defense says it found in classified reports.

It's the second time the administration attempted to halt offshore wind developments, although the first attempt was blocked after a federal judge ruled the government's actions were illegal.

Connor Yakaitis with the Connecticut League of Conservation voters says this will diminish job opportunities in the state.

A lot of these projects provide well-paying union jobs here in Connecticut.

To have this much instability and uncertainty in this industry, the developers are taking a look at it and saying the commitments we were able to make a few years ago just aren't the same nowadays because of the political climate.

Revolution Wind in Connecticut was cited directly for the pause although it's nearing completion.

I'm Edwin J. Viera.

And Minnesota organizers are celebrating what they call a huge victory in demanding local governments steer clear of vendors with red flags.

It had to do with a Minneapolis technology contract for an Israeli-founded tech company.

The city of Minneapolis has cut funding for its contract with Zensity, a firm that touts platforms it provides to local governments in gathering and analyzing community input.

But Bob Gunin of the Minnesota Boycott Divestment Sanctions Community cites ethical concerns.

Kunin also is with Jewish Voice for Peace and notes there's an underlying connection he and other constituents couldn't look past.

And their technology emerged from Israeli military intelligence and that origin of Zanzibis technology makes it complicit in the violation of Palestinian human rights.

The city council agreed to end the contract.

I'm Mike Moen.

Next offshore agriculture could soon move from concept to reality along Florida's Gulf coast research shows Americans now eat more farm seafood than wild-caught and the vast majority of its imported.

A proposal to place large fish farms in federal waters near Florida aims to change that.

Melvin Jackman lives near salmon farms near Newfoundland and says large-scale fish farming has damaged local waters and coastlines.

It makes a few jobs, but the jobs don't justify the environmental damage.

I want my grandkids to walk on a clean shore.

The project raises questions about environmental impacts, seafood supply, and the future of fishing in the Gulf.

Supporters say newer deepwater fish farms could reduce reliance on imported seafood and limit environmental harm.

This is Public News Service.

Most of us have heard stories of federal agents detaining undocumented migrants off the street.

That is getting a lot of headlines lately, but a new report shows the majority of ICE arrests in states like Mississippi take place in local and state jails.

ICE and other agencies like the US Marshal Service often work together through agreements, both legal and financial, for local officers to notify ICE of possible undocumented immigrants.

Wanda Bertram with the nonprofit Prison Policy Initiative says the problem is growing.

Over the last several months, a trend that we began to notice, and it has continued, is that the single largest source of arrests, of ICE arrests in this country are local jails.

Earlier this month, the Prison Policy Initiative issued a report examining how jails continue to facilitate mass deportation and also identifying opportunities for resistance at the state and local levels.

Bertram says that nationwide about half of all ice arrests happen out of local jails and other lockups.

But she adds that statistics provided by ICE show that red states in the deep south have some of the highest arrest rates.

The largest share of ice arrests happening in jails are largely states in the south.

Mississippi, 83 percent of ICE arrests happening in jails.

Alabama, 76 percent.

South Carolina, 80 percent.

Bertram says that in the face of public opposition to the wave of immigration detentions, many counties and states are opting out of agreements to work with federal authorities in their jails.

Mark Richardson reporting.

And next up, federal pandemic relief funds helped Ohio colleges expand mental health services, but as the funding expires, universities across the state are reassessing which support systems they can afford to keep.

During the pandemic, Ohio universities used emergency federal aid to bolster counseling capacity and expand student support services.

Campus's added staff rolled out telehealth options and invested in programs focused on basic needs and wellness to respond to rising student distress.

Jessica Zavala, director of the Ohio Program for Campus Safety and Mental Health says those investments significantly strengthened campus systems, at least temporarily.

Some institutions have added more counselors or expanded other support services connected to basic needs services, and some of those expansions probably won't go away overnight.

Student mental health needs remain high.

The 2023 Healthy Minds study found 41 percent of college students screened positive for depression. counseling centers nationwide report average wait times of more than nine days for appointments.

Farah Siddiqui reporting.

This story was produced with original reporting by Lillian Alhassan for Kent State News Lab in association with media in the public interest and funded in part by the George Gunn Foundation.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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